Bailey?s Bay yesterday showed East End rivals St.David?s that they mean business only two weeks ahead of their highly-anticipated Eastern Counties clash thanks to a four-wicket league win at Lords.

Electing to bat after winning the toss in the morning, St. David?s? stuttering innings was rescued by an excellent 50 down the order from allrounder Del Hollis, whose 36-run partnership with tailender Loren Marshall dragged the hosts final total beyond the respectable 200 mark.

Fiqre Crockwell (14), Chris Foggo (25) and later Sammy Robinson (31) all got good starts but failed to make the most of them while

veteran Noel Gibbons, meanwhile, who was making a rare appearance in the Bay ranks, recorded the sensational figures of three for 16 off his ten to go with left arm seamer Denis Pilgrim?s four scalps.

A disastrous start from the St. David?s seamers put them on the back foot on again at the start of Bay?s reply, with openers Jermaine Warner (24) and Dennis Trott (56) getting stuck into some wayward and undisciplined bowling to take their reply to 83 without loss from only 13 overs.

The loss of a clutch of middle order wickets did slow Bay?s progress towards victory, but the experienced head of Gibbons ? who took his time in compiling his 28 not out with so much time to play with ? guided the men from Sea Breeze home with more than seven overs to spare.

But what had been a largely good-spirited encounter between two fierce rivals turned ugly in the late afternoon, as a controversial umpiring decision sent the entire St. David?s side into an ugly fit of rage.

With 18 runs to win, Bay?s number eight batsman Desmond Crockwell was beaten by Hollis? offspin and started to walk off the field in response to St. David?s? loud appeal for caught behind.

But when Crockwell glanced around to see that umpire Hector Watson had not raised his finger, he returned to the crease immediately ? remaining there as the umpire insisted that the ball had flicked his arm and not his glove on the way through to the wicketkeeper.

Hollis and his team-mates were understandably distraught and remonstrated with the batsman for several minutes ? but young Chris Foggo arguably went overboard when he began to argue angrily with the umpire and had to be restrained by a team-mate.